Metro Cone 2
Metro Cone 2 is a 2008 American computer-animated fantasy comedy film produced by Gingo Animation. The sixth animated feature from Gingo, it is the second installment in the Metro Cone ''franchise and is the sequel to the 2005 film ''Metro Cone, with director Samuel Merritt, producer Geo G., and writer John Landis returning for the film. It stars the voices of Seann William Scott, Kristen Schaal, John Goodman, Mila Kunis, Zooey Deschanel, Taraji P. Henson, and Eric Idle reprising their roles for the sequel, along with new cast members including Rip Torn, Katherine Heigl, David Koechner, and Jessica Alba. Taking place a year after the first film, it follows Metro Cone and his friends going to summer camp. Metro Cone and Verra Marshall lead the other imaginary friendss, as they come to the aid of Christy, a young orphan camper who is tempted by an evil shape-shifting figure named Tarot. So, they face off against Tarot, the world's infamous human hunter. Development of the film began in 2005 following the success of the original film. Metro Cone 2 was made over an eleven-month period at Gingo's facilities, with additional work handled by Blur Studio, and involved several crew members who had worked on the original Metro Cone. James Dooley returned as composer, and Los Angeles musicians Dean and Carol Parks worked on the film's six songs. Metro Cone 2 was released on May 16, 2008. Upon its release in May 2008, Metro Cone 2 gained mostly positive critical attention, and proved to be a box office success, earning $514 million on a budget of $92 million and it held the title of being the highest-grossing non-Universal Gingo animated film of all time worldwide until the fourth film, Metro Cone Forever, surpassed it in 2015. It was released on DVD and Blu-ray in October 2008. It was followed by Metro Cone 3: The Mystery to New York in 2011. Plot Aboard their boat, Metro Cone and Verra Marshall look after the baby animals known as the Care Bear Cubs and Care Bear Cousin Cubs. On the way, a red sea serpent threatens them—one of the many forms of Tarot, an evil spirit. They escape by following a rainbow up to the sky, while the boat transforms into the Cloud Clipper. Once they get home, Metro Cone and Verra Marshall's new parents said that Metro and Verra will be going to summer camp. Metro and Verra were so excited that they asked Bonk Bear, Lucy Cutie, and Wiz Lizard to come. Then, they all pack up their stuff for tomorrow. Metro Cone, Verra Marshall, Bonk Bear, Lucy Cutie, and Wiz Lizard then slept through the night and relaxed. The next day, they eat some cereal for breakfast, and then went to visit their friends and the bus goes to a summer camp for orphans. There, they meet three of its participants: a girl named Garra, and her friends, the twins Jarry and Linda. A boastful boy nicknamed the "Camp Champ" always defeats them in competitions, and assigns them to trash duty. Garra is unsatisfied at this; she and her friends run away, only to get lost in the woods. Metro Cone soon finds Jarry and Linda, and brings them to the Kingdom of Caring. After they arrive, the children hear a bell toll from the Caring Meter, which tells Metro Cone how much caring is taking place on Earth.Verra and Metro tell them to babysit the Cubs, before they leave to search for Tarot and Garra. Meanwhile, in the woods, Garra meets Tarot (as a human boy) for the first time, and asks him to make her the new Camp Champ. He grants her that wish, telling her she must pay him back with one favor, and heads away while she rejoins her friends. Aware of Tarot's potential, Metro Cone and Verra Marshall move the Bear Cubs to Care-a-Lot, and the Cousin Cubs to the Forest of Feelings. Both sets quickly grow up to become the family. Later, while the Imaginary Friends prepare a party for the Kingdom's founders, Tarot enters Imaginary-a-Lot in disguise so that he can capture the whole Family. A cluster of Star Buddies, assistants to the friends, drives him off; he then morphs into a raging red cloud. The friends shoot light at him from their bellies, forming their "Imaginary Stare"; the Cousins also help by using their "Cousin Call". Afterward, Metro Cone and Verra Marshall decide to search for him, and leave the Friends to handle missions all by themselves. During their patrol, Wiz Lizard spots Garra stranded in a canoe within a lake; the others set out to rescue her. Tarot fires lightning bolts before the team, and captures many of them with his magic bag— the favor he wanted Garra to do all along. The few Family members at hand determine that she has teamed up with him. This prompts Metro Cone to hold a conference at the Hall of Hearts; Bonk Bear, Lucy Cutie and Garra's friends later join them. That night, Tarot's influence causes the other children to wreck the camp. Metro Cone and his firends search for the Family members, before Tarot imprisons them—first in cages, then inside big rubies hanging from a chandelier. Meanwhile, Jarry and Linda tell Garra of their conviction to rescue the Family from the villain. Feeling guilty, she finally pays him back by admitting what she has done. Despite this, her bargain with Tarot is over. Bonk Bear, Verra Marshall, Jarry and Linda enter Tarot's lair amid his impending deed; Garra asks him to free the others. While Metro Cone and Verra Marshall enact their Stare, lightning from his cloud strikes Garra, who screams in fear and gets struck and wounded. With little energy left in her, she crashes down the chandelier with a marble.The Family members, finally free from the rubies, help Metro Cone and Verra Marshall out. At the sight of a dead Garra, Tarot becomes remorseful for his actions. He asks Metro Cone and his friends to bring her back to life, but is disappointed that their kindness is not even enough. So he, the Family, Jarry and Linda chant "Metro!" enough times to bring her back to life. Soon after, the group quickly leaves the cave as it transforms into an outhouse. Tarot becomes a real boy, and everyone is overjoyed. After a swim in the lake, the campers say goodbye to Metro Cone and his friends; the former Tarot promises to be a better person at camp. The film ends with Metro Cone, Verra Marshall, and their friends end up returning to their normal lifestyles. Voice cast : Main article: List of Metro Cone characters :* Seann William Scott as Metro Cone :** Zachary Gordon as Young Metro :* Kristen Schaal as Vera Marshall :* John Goodman as Bonk Bear :* Mila Kunis as Lucy Cutie :* Zooey Deschanel as Wiz Lizard :* Rip Torn as Tarot :* Katherine Heigl as Garra :* David Koechner as Jarry :* Jessica Alba as Linda :* Taraji P. Henson as Mindy Cone :* Eric Idle as John Cone :* Rino Romano as Lloyd :* Jonny Solomon as Ralph :* Samuel Merritt as Gorilla :* Stacy Ferguson as Lady Monkey :* Geo G. as Melvin :* Kari Wahlgren as a talking manager :* John DiMaggio as Joey :* Paul Rugg as Jim Additional voices * Keith Anthony * Bob Bergen * Barry Bobison * Jason Connery * David Cowgill * Debi Derryberry * Terri Douglas * Bill Farmer * Eddie Frierson * Jessica Gee-George * John Gidcomb * Nicholas Guest * Todd Haberkorn * Jennifer Hale * Jess Harnell * Bridget Hoffman * Mia Sinclair Jenness * John Kassir * Phil LaMarr * John Landis * Keith Lango * Carolyn Lawrence * Danny Mann * Mona Marshall * Remi McGill * Caitlin McKenna * Samuel Merritt * Laraine Newman * Tim Miller * Marlon Nowe * Paul Pape * Samir Patel * Todd Perry * Dan Rice * David Stinnett * Fred Tatasciore * Jason Taylor * Steven L. Wagner * Dave Wilson * Jim Wise Production Development Metro Cone received critical acclaim and did well at the box office. The film grossed $73,753,953 on its opening weekend, leaving it #1 during the Thanksgiving weekend. It eventually went onto a gross of $468,952,248 worldwide, making the film a box office success. It is the fourth highest-grossing 2005 animated film (behind Wondercolts, Kim Possible Movie: So The Drama, and Madagascar). This success guaranteed production of a second film, which was in consideration by May 2006. Gingo Animation announced a sequel scheduled for a 2008 release. Director Samuel Merritt and producer Geo G. returned for the film. Gingo began working on the sequel in mid 2005 with writer John Landis. By early May 2006, the first draft of the script was completed. In March 2007, Gingo announced that the film went into production. As with the original, production took place at Gingo's facilities; the American studio also hired South Korean personnel to handle inking and painting. This time, over one hundred Gingo animators worked on the film over a eleven-month period that lasted until February 2008; the company itself received credit for the story development. Metro Cone 2 was Gingo's sixth animated feature film, after 1999's Paint World, 2002's The Gabriel Garza Movie, 2004's Zina and the Vivid Crew, Metro Cone and 2006's BJ and Wally. Several other crewmembers from the first film returned to the fold; Gingo's founder (Geo G.) served as producer. Mickey Rooney and Georgia Engel, who appeared in the first film, did not return. Casting In June 2006, Variety reported that Jodie Foster was negotiating to voice Gerra, but the negotiations failed. In October 2006. By October 2006, Katherine Heigl had joined the cast to voice Gerra. In November 2006, Fox confirmed that Seann William Scott, Kristen Schaal, John Goodman, Mila Kunis, Zooey Deschanel, Taraji P. Henson, and Eric Idle were returning to reprise their roles. Newcomers include Rip Torn as Tarot, David Kochener as Jarry and Jessica Alba as Linda. Animation CGI animation production began in April 2007. CGI animation was supervised by Samuel Merritt, the CGI props are created by Reel FX Creative Studios. CGI backgrounds are made by Geo G. at Gingo Animation. Visual effects The visual effects production for the film began on March 5, 2007, where it is supervised by Geo G.. Video editors, compositors, and visual effects artists edited the film just by importing 3D animated footage as the backgrounds. They also imported digital hand-drawn animated footage with the vector background as their cels that really needs editing and compositing along with the backgrounds. They even add CGI animated footage with the vector background as their cels, so they composite the backgrounds and the animation cels to make it look like fantasy in the final cut. Geo G. and Samuel Merritt worked together to animate the Tarot sequences with help from John Landis using Anime Studio Pro, Adobe Flash, Autodesk Maya, and Adobe After Effects. Post-production The post-production began in February 1, 2008, where it is supervised by Samuel Merritt and Geo G., and directed by John Landis. The sound production was created at Skywalker Sound in Marin County, California. Sound editors Tom Myers, Teresa Eckton and Chris Boyes, and sound designer Gary Rydstrom design the sound and then edit it, next sound recorder Geo G. recorded the sound for Gray Rydstrom and Tom Johnson to edit and mix it, then sound re-recording mixers Tom Johnson and Gary Summers re-recorded the sound and mix it. Stereoscopic 3D production was directed, supervised, created, and animated by Samuel Merritt. Stereoscopic 3D production was also created and animated by Legend3D. The digital imaging services are at Technicolor Digital Intermediates, where they time the color of the film, and cut the negative clips into the film. The opening titles are created by Blur Studio and Pacific Title, while the end credits are created by Scarlett Letters. Soundtrack : Main article: Metro Cone 2/Soundtrack James Dooley, who composed the score for the first film, returned to compose the score for this film. The soundtrack was released on May 6, 2008 by Varèse Sarabande. Release Metro Cone 2 was originally scheduled for release on July 18, 2008, but was moved to May 16, 2008. The film was also released in conventional IMAX theaters along with its standard release making this the first Gingo film to be released in this format. The film premiered on April 6, 2008 at Astra Cinema in Naples, Italy. Geo G. and Seann William Scott were present at the red carpet premiere. The American premiere was held at Grauman's Chinese Theater in Los Angeles on April 11, 2008; The cast of the film and filmmakers were present at the red carpet premiere. The film was theatrically released in the United States on May 16, 2008. Marketing On October 11, 2007, the film's teaser trailer was released on YouTube. The trailer was also attached to The Heroes, which went into theaters on October 12, 2007. Two more trailers were produced, with the first being released on December 14, 2007 and the second being released on March 14, 2008. Thinkway Toys released a line of action figures based on the film, Pop! Vinyl also released a line of vinyl figures, which includes Metro Cone, Verra Marshall, Bonk Bear and Lucy Cutie. McDonald's produced a line of 9 toys that were given away with McDonald's Happy Meal. In the Australian market, a few small plush characters of Metro Cone, Verra Marshall, Bonk Bear, Lucy Cutie and Wiz Lizard replace some of the toys in the US lineup. Ten books were released for the film: The Junior Novel, Sticker Activity Book, The Movie Storybook, The Revenge of Tarot!, Coloring & Activity Book, The Funny Joke Book, Meet the Gang, The Art of Metro Cone 2, Big Tarot, Little Tarot, and Metro Cone's Paint Box. Metro Cone 2 was promoted with airings of the first film on several channels in the weeks of the film's release, including Gingo, FX, and Fox. Sneak peeks of Metro Cone 2 were also revealed, primarily on Gingo. Home media Metro Cone 2 was released on DVD and Blu-ray by 20th Century Fox on October 21, 2008. The DVD and Blu-ray also includes a short film Metro Outs. The film includes trailers for 20th Century Fox films and a teaser trailer for a new Blue Sky Studios film titled Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, which scheduled for a release on July 1, 2009. The film debuted in 12th place on Billboard's Top DVD Sales chart on November 27 that same year. The film aired during 2010 on Disney Channel, a premium television station, and was also broadcast on Gingo Channel, HBO, Showtime and The Movie Channel. It returned on Blu-ray as part of the 20th Century Fox 75th Anniversary Releases on August 13, 2010. A Blu-ray 3D and Blu-ray + DVD combo pack was released on April 16, 2013. A 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray version was released on November 15, 2016, together with the all movies. Video game : Main article: Metro Cone 2 (video game) A video game based on the film was released on May 6, 2008 for the Nintendo DS, Wii, Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation Portable. Reception Box office Metro Cone 2 grossed $200.2 million domestically (US and Canada) and $314.9 million in foreign markets for a total of $514.1 million worldwide. The film grossed $73.7 million on its opening weekend, leaving it #2 during the weekend behind Iron Man. It eventually went onto a gross of $514.1 million worldwide, making the film a box office success. It is the fifth highest-grossing 2008 animated film (behind Legend of MYCUN, Kung Fu Panda, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa ''and ''WALL-E). Critical reception Like the previous film, Metro Cone 2 received positive reviews from critics. Rotten Tomatoes has given the film a 86%. The consensus states, "This is the best Metro Cone yet.". It holds a 71 out of 100 rating on Metacritic, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Sequel Main article: Metro Cone 3: The Mystery to New York